Puel Confident Of Maguire Stay

Solomon Ojeagbase

3 months ago

Leicester boss Claude Puel insists Harry Maguire will not be making a deadline-day move to Manchester United.

England international Maguire has been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford over recent weeks and the Red Devils have reportedly already had two bids rejected by Leicester, the second of which believed to be in the region of £60million.

The Foxes have stood firm – despite bringing in another defender in the form of Filip Benkovic – and it appears they may have won the battle, with United reportedly turning their attention to other targets, most notably Atletico Madrid star Diego Godin.

Puel is confident Maguire will still be a Leicester player when the transfer window closes on Thursday although he did confirm the centre-back will be heading to Manchester in the near future – but only as part of the squad for Friday’s Premier League opener against United.

“I can confirm he is going to Manchester,” Puel told reporters. “But only for two hours when we play there on Friday.”

The former Southampton coach has also reiterated how important it is for Leicester to keep hold of their best players, particularly after they allowed Riyad Mahrez to join Manchester City earlier in the summer.

“I am happy to keep Harry and all our best players,” the Frenchman added. “We lost Riyad, he was valuable for us, but it was important to keep all our best players.”